Meetup questions

I have become a member of Meetup, but I am not sure (after reading the FAQs and other guidelines) if I have to pay a monthly fee if I set up an organization to schedule meetings (e.g. for local figure skating fans). They sounded vague, like they could charge fees anytime. There was something about the organizer (which would be me) charging fees to the attendees.

Has anyone used Meetup, and how successful was it? Did you have to pay any kind of fees? I need to know for some of other interests too. How good are they at answering queries if you get stuck?

If you have any information to share, it will be appreciated. Somehow I feel that I get my questions answered here faster than their website.

I don't know about fees charged to members who set up an organization, but I joined two meetup groups recently. One does charge a $5 annual membership to members who join that was due by the end of September. I joined right after so I'm not sure if I have to pay, but probably do. The fee is to cover the cost of maintaining the host's website. I think it's up to you to charge or not.

The one meetup group, we all met up for dinner last Friday and everyone was responsible for their own tab. It was a lot of fun, strangers felt like friends after that one evening. They meet up once a month for dinner at the same spot. They also have various other activities that anyone who belongs could try to organize and get everyone together. I would definitely go back.

Meetup charges organizers twice a year--I think it averages something like $12/month. I think they expect you to cough up in August and Februrary. I know it's once in the summer and once in the winter.

How the individual groups divide that charge is up to the individual organizers. I'm in seven meet-up groups, and the cost per member varies wildly. Two charge nothing--the organizer just absorbs the cost. Three charge based loosely on how many members. One has over 400 members, so each active member pays $2/year, another I pay $6/twice a year and in the other it's $3/meetup. The other one is a food meet-up group and at Christmas and the organizer's birthday, we pay for her meal at some semi-swanky place. The other meet-up group is one that I'm not all that active in--she has hers set up to where people who contribute get perks--it's a wine meet-up group and the organizer is unsurprisingly a liquor distributor.

I guess I'm technically in eight--the last group is one that's an actual club where I pay dues, but they have a meet-up leg as well for recruitment. I don't know what its policy is for those that just go to the meetings through meet-up and never join the larger organization. I'm guessing it's paid in part by my dues, which are $20/yearly.

A member of one of the meetups I am a part of decided to start his own group and says he has to pay $19/month. Since he created the group in August, I guess he may have confused the charge with that semiannual payment Matryeshka mentioned.

As expected, it's not free. I was just not sure from the FAQs how they determined the charges for the organizers. It does not sound like an outrageous amount, so at least my Toastmasters club will be able to sign up. They do have funds and a budget. For me, personally, it may be hard to shell out dough right now, not knowing if there are others interested in this. May be early next year I will give it a try and see if it works for the group I have in mind.